Abstract
This chapter explores ethical issues intrinsic to the practice of visual journalism in the global sphere. As both a practical and theoretical exploration, the chapter focuses on visual ethics as a dynamic continuum of seeing as a way of knowing and making meaning. Through examples, the chapter demonstrates that visual journalism is an active process guided by conscious and nonconscious perceiving, interpreting, documenting, and distributing observed moments, people, and places. The chapter reviews visual codes of ethics, applicable media ethics theories, and visual ethics literature and summarizes core issues key to the ethical practice of visual journalism. Characteristics epitomizing ethical visual journalists are courage, clarity, and compassion. The chapter asserts that visual journalism is not only a matter of ethics with potential individual and global impact but also a matter of survival, in that visual journalism at its core is about helping humans understand themselves, other beings of the earth, and the world around them.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Adapted from Blake. Original is “As a man is, so he sees.” [To] the Revd Dr. Tusler August 16. 1799, 702.
- 2.
Cartier-Bresson, npn.
- 3.
“A Brave and Startling Truth,” Maya Angelou: The Complete Poetry. New York, Random House, 2015, 269–271, quote on 271.
- 4.
Ethical Journalism Network is a collaborative, international media ethics project that serves as a resource for ethical reporting.
- 5.
Orsi and Guthrie.
- 6.
Le Duc.
- 7.
Ahmed and Semple.
- 8.
O’Grady.
- 9.
Orsi and Guthrie.
- 10.
Le Duc, “Better Life,” paragraphs.
- 11.
Newton, 2000.
- 12.
Thebault, paragraph 6.
- 13.
Facebook post, June 26, 2019, meme showed a photo of the family, with the child’s eyes covered and the words “Stop Dehumanizing Them.”
- 14.
Newton, Burden of Visual Truth. The typology is further explicated in Newton, Handbook of Visual Communication Research, 2005.
- 15.
Darrach, paragraph 3.
- 16.
Darrach, paragraph 48–49.
- 17.
Documentary Expression, 1972.
- 18.
Burden of Visual Truth, 2001.
- 19.
National Geographic, “How We Spotted Altered Pictures.” https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/07/editors-note-images-and-ethics/
- 20.
NPPA, paragraphs 2–3.
- 21.
NPPA, Codes of Ethics.
- 22.
“Global Activities Since 1955,” paragraph 2.
- 23.
World Press Photo, “Working Towards,” paragraph 3.
- 24.
World Press Photo, “Working Towards,” paragraph 4.
- 25.
World Press Photo, “Code of Ethics.”
- 26.
World Press Photo, “Verification.”
- 27.
Reuters, https://www.reutersagency.com/en/
- 28.
Reuters, Handbook, paragraph 2.
- 29.
Reuters, Handbook. http://handbook.reuters.com/index.php?title=Standards_and_Values
- 30.
The Associated Press, “Visuals.” https://www.ap.org/about/news-values-and-principles/telling-the-story/visuals
- 31.
AP, “Use of Others’ Material.” https://www.ap.org/about/news-values-and-principles/telling-the-story/use-of-others-material, paragraph 7.
- 32.
AP, “Introduction.” https://www.ap.org/about/news-values-and-principles/introduction, paragraphs 12–13.
- 33.
Photo Bill of Rights. https://www.photobillofrights.com/about, paragraph 1.
- 34.
Photo Bill of Rights. https://www.photobillofrights.com/about, paragraphs 2–3.
- 35.
Photo Bill of Rights. https://www.photobillofrights.com/toolkit-for-lens-based-workers, informed consent block.
- 36.
- 37.
Photo Bill of Rights. https://www.photobillofrights.com/about, paragraph 3.
- 38.
Ward, “Truth and Objectivity,” p. 101.
- 39.
Ward, “Truth and Objectivity,” p. 101.
- 40.
Ward, “Truth and Objectivity,” p. 102.
- 41.
Ward, “Truth and Objectivity,” p. 112.
- 42.
Christians, Media Ethics, 31.
- 43.
Christians, “Anthropological Ethics.”
- 44.
Ward, Disrupting Journalism Ethics, 1.
- 45.
Christians, “Anthropological Ethics,” p. 397.
- 46.
Christians, “Anthropological Ethics,” p. 400.
- 47.
Christians, “Anthropological Ethics,” p. 406.
- 48.
Christians, “Anthropological Ethics,” p. 407.
- 49.
Christians, “Anthropological Ethics,” p. 414.
- 50.
Strate, personal communication.
- 51.
Mead and Bateson.
- 52.
1982.
- 53.
1984.
- 54.
1988.
- 55.
1991.
- 56.
Messaris 1994.
- 57.
Reaves 1995.
- 58.
Barry 1997.
- 59.
2001.
- 60.
Handbook of Visual Communication Research, 2005 and 2020.
- 61.
2010.
- 62.
2017.
- 63.
Dahmen et al. 2019.
- 64.
“Preface,” TheDecisive Moment, npn.
References
Ahmed A, Semple K. Photo of drowned migrants captures pathos of those who risk it all. The New York Times, June 25, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/us/father-daughter-border-drowning-picture-mexico.html
Barry AM (1997) Visual intelligence. State University of New York Press, Stony Brook
Blake W (2008) The complete poetry and prose of William Blake. Erdman DV (ed), University of California Press, Berkeley
Calzada A. Comment to Facebook post, Raices, June 26, 2019. https://www.facebook.com/raicestexas/posts/10156845776364678
Christians C (2019) Media ethics and global justice in the digital age. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Christians C. (2021) Handbook of Global Media Ethics. Ward SJA (ed), Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 387–422.
Dahmen N, Thier K, Walth B (2019, March 21) Creating engagement with solutions visuals: testing the effects of problem-oriented versus solution-oriented photojournalism. Visual Communication
Darrach A. ‘When the heart gets filtered up through the camera’: Vietnam War photographers on how to cover COVID better. Columbia Journalism Review, August 2, 2020. https://www.cjr.org/special_report/vietnam-war-photographers-covid.php?utm_source=Daily+Lab+email+listandutm_campaign=03c6c90989-dailylabemail3andutm_medium=emailandutm_term=0_d68264fd5e-03c6c90989-395914493
Ethical Journalism Network. https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/tag/la-jornada
Gross L, Katz JS, Ruby J (eds) (1988) Image ethics, the moral rights of subjects in photographs, film, and television. Oxford University Press, New York
Harper D (1982) Good company. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Hunley A (2020a) Alexis Hunley. https://www.alexishunley.com/portfolio#1
Hunley A (2020b, August 11) Personal communication
Le Duc J. ‘They wanted the American dream’: reporter reveals story behind tragic photo | US news | The Guardian, June 25, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/25/they-wanted-the-american-dream-reporter-reveals-story-behind-tragic-photo
Lester P (2018) Visual ethics: a guide for photographers, journalists and filmmakers. Routledge, New York
Lester P, Ross S (2003) Images that injure: pictorial stereotypes in the media, 2nd edn. Praeger, Westport
Mead M, Bateson G (1977) Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson on the use of the camera in anthropology. Stud Anthropol Vis Commun 4:78–80
Messaris P (1994) Visual literacy: image, mind, and reality. Westview Press, Boulder
Miroff N, Linskey A, Dawsey J. At border, grim realities of crisis collide with Democrats’ 2020 politics, Washington Post, July 2, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/at-border-grim-realities-of-crisis-collide-with-2020-campaign-politics/2019/07/02/ca47d4b0-9cdb-11e9-9ed4-c9089972ad5a_story.html
National Press Photographers Association. Code of ethics. https://nppa.org/code-ethics
Newton J (1984) The role of photography in a social science research project in Northern Mexico: a matter of ethics. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Texas, Austin
Newton J (2001) The burden of visual truth: the role of photojournalism in mediating reality. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah
Newton J (2005a) Studying visual ethics by applying a typology of visual behavior. In: Smith K, Barbatsis G, Moriarty S, Kenney K (eds) Handbook of visual communication research: theory, methods, and media. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, pp 459–477
Newton J (2005b) Visual ethics. In: Smith K, Barbatsis G, Moriarty S, Kenney K (eds) Handbook of visual communication: theory, methods, and media. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, pp 429–443
Newton J (2018) “Toward a transformative ethic for seeing—and living,” Special issue: really social photojournalism. Vis Commun Q 24:243–255
Newton J (2020a) Visual ethics: a dynamic of process and meaning. In: Josephsen S, Kelly J, Smith K (eds) Handbook of visual communication: theory, methods, and media, 2nd edn. Routledge, New York, pp 397–419
Newton J (2020b) Photojournalism ethics: a 21st-century primal dance of behavior, technology and ideology. In: Wilkins L, Christians CG (eds) Handbook of media ethics, 2nd edn. Routledge, New York, pp 84–100
Newton J, Williams R (2010) Visual ethics: an integrative approach to ethical practice in visual journalism. In: Meyers C (ed) Handbook of journalism ethics. Oxford Press, New York/London, pp 333–348
O’Grady S, Noack R (2019) Photo of drowned migrant child recalls an image that shocked the world in 2015, Washington Post, June 26, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/06/26/photo-drowned-migrant-child-recalls-an-image-that-shocked-world/
Olivares P “Pilarro,” Instagram
Orsi P, Guthrie A (2019) A grim border drowning underlines peril facing many migrants. Associated Press, June 26, 2019. https://apnews.com/2f8422c820104d6eaad9b73d939063a9
Photo Bill of Rights. https://www.photobillofrights.com/
Raices. Facebook, June 26, 2019. https://www.facebook.com/raicestexas/posts/10156845776364678
Reaves S (1995) Magazines vs. newspapers: editors have different ethical standards on the digital manipulation of photographs. Vis Commun Q 2:4–7
Reuters. Handbook of journalism. http://handbook.reuters.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
Stott W (1973) Documentary expression in thirties America. Oxford University Press, New York/Oxford
Strate L (2017) Media ecology: an approach to understanding the human condition. Peter Lang, New York
Strate L (2018) Personal communication, April 7, 2018
Tagg J (1988) The burden of representation: essays on photographies and histories. Macmillan Education, Basingstoke
The Associated Press. “The Associated Press Statement of News Values and Principles” and “Social Media Guidelines for AP Employees.” https://www.ap.org/about/news-values-and-principles/
Thebault R, Velarde L, Hauslohner A (2019) The father and daughter who drowned at the border were desperate for a better life, family says. Washington Post, June 26, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/06/26/father-daughter-who-drowned-border-dove-into-river-desperation/
Thomson TJ (2019) To see and be seen: the environments, interactions and identities behind news images. Rowman and Littlefield, London/New York
van Agtmael P. ‘The Best Photo From Vietnam’: one photographer’s defining image of War, The Backstory. https://time.com/67551/the-best-photo-from-vietnam-one-photographers-defining-image-of-war/
Vargas Lara Wara. “Dream,” Esta semana en @fotofemmeunited. https://www.instagram.com/wara_vargas/
Vargas Lara Wara. “Sueña,” @photofotomag. https://www.instagram.com/p/Br823H6guY2/
Vazquez M, Carvajal N (2019) Trump blames Democrats’ policies for drowning deaths of father, daughter in Rio Grande. CNN, June 26, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/26/politics/donald-trump-democrats-migrants/index.html
Ward SJA (2019) Disrupting journalism ethics: radical change on the frontier of digital media. Routledge, Abingdon/Oxon
Ward SJA (2020) Truth and objectivity. In: Wilkins L, Christians CG (eds) The Routledge handbook of mass media ethics, 2nd edn. Routledge, New York/London, pp 101–114
World Press Photo. Code of ethics. https://www.worldpressphoto.org/programs/contests/photo-contest/code-of-ethics/28580
World Press Photo. Introducing the World Press photo foundation. https://www.worldpressphoto.org/About-us/37373
World Press Photo. Verification. https://www.worldpressphoto.org/programs/contests/photo-contest/verification-process/28610
World Press Photo. Working towards a more inclusive and diverse visual journalism community. https://www.worldpressphoto.org/news/2020/working-towards-a-diverse-and-inclusive-industry/39999
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Newton, J.H. (2021). The Seer and the World: Visual Journalism Ethics as Seeing Within and Beyond. In: Ward, S.J.A. (eds) Handbook of Global Media Ethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32103-5_58
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32103-5_58
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-32102-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32103-5
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)